6/21/2013

We've been hearing Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin talk about an Independence Day follow-up for a long time, and it never really seemed to be getting any closer to happening. Last fall we learned that Emmerich was hoping to develop two films, inexplicably titled ID Forever Part 1 and ID Forever Part 2. Bad names aside, Emmerich wasn't just blowing smoke, because 20th Century Fox have just made the sequel official, thankfully using the original title.Independence Day 2 has been slated for a patriotic July 3rd 2015 release. Of course there are no plot details yet, but it'll probably involve aliens blowing up American monuments in a dramatic show of extraterrestrial force. Will Smith isn't confirmed yet, and he's been a little shaky on the subject in the past, but considering how well After Earth performed (as in not well at all), he may be looking for an easy hit. Bill Pullman has expressed the possibility of the film continuing even if Smith declines, but nobody wants ID2 without Smith. That would be a bad business move.

Speaking of business, Smith would be sorely mistaken if he does think ID2 is a surefire hit, because all of these franchises will be cannibalizing one another in 2015: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, the Fantastic Four reboot, Pirates of the Caribbean 5, Star Wars: Episode VII, Ant-Man, The Avengers 2, and possibly Man of Steel 2 or Justice League. Oi vei!